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I was very excited to see the male Towhee making an appearance at the house. Nancy and I thought that there may be a pair of mated Towhees as the female and male were now appearing. Lo and behold, the female showed up again! Both of them were hanging around the house and the feeders.
Also, it was exciting to identify this white throated sparrow.
Yesterday was Snowtober! Awful!!!! The snow was very destructive and I really could have done without it. It was a miracle that we didn't have tree limbs hit the house or the cars as limbs were falling all around us. We were not without major destruction as I think we lost about 6 japanese maples and a dogwood and some other property destruction. I can only hope that the snow melts quickly today and we are out of harm's way.
Anyway... The snow brought out the birds as they huddled around the feeders. Here are some shots of a female cardinal and one of a junco.
We were fortunate to have yet another new visitor to the property yesterday. The new bird is a female eastern towhee. Unfortunately, he was on the ground the whole time so it was difficult to get a good shot of him. However, I got a shot of him nonetheless.
Also, we had a wren stretching its vocal chords, which is always amazing. That little bird can sing.
I was running out of time last night and didn't really have any idea what to shoot. So, I decided I would shoot me in the mirror. Kind of boring, but with Alien Skin Exposure's solarize effect, it is a little more interesting.
Yesterday turned out to be a surprisingly good birding day. The day started very gray and overcast, but the sun came out towards the end of the day and along with that came some pretty good opportunities. Very late in the day, Nancy spotted a juvenile Cooper's Hawk in the back yard! Very exciting!!! I have been trying to capture a pic of him for a while now.
This red bellied woodpecker was busy hiding his food for later.
And a few sparrows for good measure. This is a house sparrow and a song sparrow.
Yesterday's self imposed assignment was to work with trying to incorporate the sun into the image. I really enjoy the super strong back lighting that occurs in that situation.
Unlike Sunday, where I had subjects galore, yesterday was overcast and quiet. Also, being a work day, I didn't have time to poke around looking for birds. This is a shot of an elephant statue of Nancy's.
I am always happiest when my photo of the day shots are of birds, being they are my favorite subject. These are more shots from the backyard, believe it or not. Shots include a ruby crowned kinglet, a black throated blue warbler, and a phoebe. Also, for good measure, I shot a well lit rose.
Yesterday, I was completely uninspired. In fact, this was my safety photograph. I was saving this idea when I didn't have the time/energy to come up with anything else. This is a banana leaf processed through Alien Skin Exposure's negative-bright filter.
I really found myself at a loss yesterday and the day was slipping through my fingers. So, I decided to try some creative flash techniques. This shot was done with the flash off camera and facing from the bottom of the subject pointing up.
